Part 31 (1/2)
”Say the correct thing”
”He wants your assurance that the feands in the Harari camp are delivered to him for justice as soon as they are captured”
”There is no reason against this?”
”Indeed, it will save us trouble and embarrassment”
”What will he do with them they are responsible for the torture andhis confidence, and the sense of outrage returned to him
”I have eye-witness accounts of the terrible atrocities com of bound prisoners justice rinned without mirth ”I assure you, my dear Count, that in the hands of Ras Kullah they will ine in your worst nightmares,” and he turned back to the Ras and said in Amharic, ”You have our word on it They are yours to do with as you see fit” The Ras sue ran across his swollen purple lips, from one corner of his mouth to the other
By this time, the Count had recovered his breath, and realized that contrary to all his expectations the Ras was friendly and that he was not in i his throat slit and his personal parts forcibly reained much of his aploe, a full account of the eneuns and are I want to know the enemy's order of battle, the exact location of all his earthworks and strong points and particularly I want to be informed of the positions occupied by the Ras's own Gallas at the present ti with the ene off the points one at a ti awe Here was a warrior, indeed
We have to bait the trap, said Gareth Swales
He and Jake Barton squatted side by side in the shade cast by the hull of Priscilla the Pig
Gareth had a short length of twig in his right hand, and he had been using it to draw out his strategy for receiving the renewed thrust by the Italians
”It's no good sending horseain” Jake said nothing, but frowned heavily at the cons that Gareth had traced on the sandy earth
”We have conditioned the tank cooing to be after it like-”
”Like a long dog after a bitch, ”said Jake
”Exactly,” Gareth nodded ”I was just going to say that myself”
”You already did, ”Jake reh and hold another in reserve here” Gareth touched the sandwith the first car”
”Like a high-explosive shell between the buttocks?” Jake asked
”Precisely If that happens the second car pops in like this and keeps thereat”
”Piece of cake, old son, nothing to it Trust the celebrated Swales genius”
”Who takes the first car? ”Jake asked
”Spin you for it,” Gareth suggested, and a silver Maria Theresa appeared as if by h luck, old son Heads it is” Jake's hand was quick as a striking mamba It snapped closed on Gareth's wrist and held his hand in which the silver coin was cupped
”I say,” protested Gareth ”Surely you don't believe that I nedly
”No offence,” Jake assured him, turned Gareth's hand towards him and examined the coin cupped in his palh forehead, very sensual oer, what?” Jake released his wrist, and stood up, dusting his breeches to cover his eet ready,” he called across to where the young Harari was supervising the preparations taking place on the higher ground above where the cars were parked
”Good luck, old son,” Gareth called after thee of Priscilla's turret with his long legs dangling into the hatch, and he looked up at thesteeply into the vast towering mass of cloud that rose sheer into the sky
The cloudwith the slow viscosity of treacle down the harsh ranges of rock The mountains had disappeared, sed by the cloudits prey
For the first time since they had entered the Danakil, the sun was obscured The cold caers of air, so that the gooseflesh pimpled his orius sat beside hi up also at the silver and dark blue of the thunderheads
”The big rains will begin now”
”Here?”
”No, not down here in the desert, but upon the reat fury” For a fewslopes of grandeur and menace, then he turned his back upon the tree-dotted plains to the eastward As yet, there was no) sign of the Italian advance that the scouts had reported, and he turned again and focused his binoculars on the lower slopes of the gorge at the point fronal the ene to be seen but broken rock and the tumbled slopes of scree and rubble
He dropped his scrutiny lower to where the last sreat rock reef of the mountains
There rinkles in the surface of the plain, sparsely covered with the pale seared desert grasses, but in their troughs thick coarse bush had taken root The bush was tall and dense enough to hide the hundreds of patiently waiting Harari under its cover
Gareth had worked out thewith the Italian tanks, and it was he who had sent Gregorius up the gorge to the village of Sardi with a gang of a hundred 's direction, they had torn up the rails fro yard of the railway station, packed the heavy steel rails on to the caht them down the perilous path to the desert floor
Gareth had explained how the rails were to be used, split his force into gangs of twenty men each and exercised them with the rails until they were as efficient as he could hope for All that was needed noas for Priscilla the Pig to lead the Italian tanks into the low dunes
Without armour, Gareth estimated they could hold the Italians for a week at the e His order of battle placed the Harari on the left and centre, in good positions that interlocked with those of the Galla on the right flank The Vickers guns had lanes of fire laid down that would make any infantry assault by the Italians suicidal without armoured cover
They would have to blast their way into the gorge with artillery and aerial bombardment It would take them a week at the least that is, if they could dissuade Ras Gola the Italians, a task which pro blood was coursing through his ancient veins
Once they forced the ut, they had another week's hard pounding to reach the top and the town of Sardi provided once again that the Ras could be restrained in the role of defender
Once the Italians broke out of the head of the gorge, the ar in to hold them for a day or two more, but when they were expended, it was all over It was an easy drive for the Italians through the rolling highlands on to the Dessie road, to close the jaws of the trap hopefully after the prey had fled
Gareth had reported all this to Lij Mikhael, contacting hiraph at the Emperor's headquarters on the shores of Lake Tona
The Prince had telegraphed back the Eratitude and assurances that within teeks the destiny of Ethiopia would be decided
”HOLD THE GORGE FOR TWO WEEKS AND YOUR DUTY WILL BE FULLY
DISCHARGED STOP YOU WILL HAVE EARNED THE GRAtitUDE OF THE EMPEROR AND